Yuni

YUNI showcase the harsh reality of being a female teenager in Indonesia where society push her hard to be domesticated and silenced. I can relate to some of it and I sobbed through a few scenes. It saddens me that there are tons of real YUNI out there, who need help, as this review is being written and days go by. This movie's message is powerful and brilliantly delivered through each scenes.

The better and more advanced Indonesian film is, I am very proud. Hoping to get better and have more character in promoting Indonesian local values. Success in competing with foreign films.

Indonesia's official entry to 2022's Oscars is a very good coming-of-age. It's simple yet powerful and sensational. It tackles interesting important topics like sexual awakening, virginity, early marriages, girls' dreams and access to education in a conservative traditional society. But it feels incoherent and distant sometimes due to having too many subjects to portray, it doesn't take one clear path to follow.

A simple, honest & grounded effort that's crafted with sincerity and told with composure, Yuni concerns a bright high school girl who is obsessed with the colour purple and is determined to pursue her dreams but finds her world getting smaller when unexpected & unwanted marriage proposals start knocking on her doorstep while community expectations & superstitions further complicate her life.

Co-written & directed by Kamila Andini, the story makes for a fascinating coming-of-age drama but also dives into the patriarchal, conservative & regressive Indonesian society myth & mindset that considers marriage to be the be-all & end-all of a woman's existence. Andini captures all of it from the perspective & emotional journey of her young protagonist and showcases the wrongs that are rooted deeply enough to be considered norms.

The first two acts sustain the interest by covering the titular character's struggles with undiluted focus & raw intensity and Arawinda Kirana's authentic input not only allows the viewers to relate to her character's dilemma but also makes it easy for them to invest in her new experiences. The last act however unfortunately fails to stick the landing and is unable to provide a proper closure to everything that unfolded before and is one aspect that will divide the audience.

Overall, Yuni is a powerful, intimate & heartbreaking portrait of what it's like to be a young girl in Indonesia and doesn't shy away from illustrating the disturbing hardcore beliefs that continue to prosper there in the name of tradition. Benefitting a lot from Kirana's excellent showcase and all the more emboldened by Andini's fine script & candid direction, this coming-of-age drama is an essential & impressive offering from the Indonesian film industry and is undeniably worth a shot.

"Yuni" causes one to leave the theatre in a stage of deep, introspective thought about their life and value of their choices. A character-focused and vibrant picture pinned amongst an otherwise dreary backdrop of crumbling, urbanized cityscape, Kamila Andini's third feature masters the powerful grace of femininity, represented by a character embodying wisdom and power with a childish awe.

A film dripping with Naturalistic beauty, unhindered by the frills of intricate camerawork and sets, "Yuni" feels as though it just so happened to be documented. It simply exists as all life does, allowing you to see what you wouldn't normally. Highlighted by actor chemistry, the feelings of raw tears, the rarely-spoken-about uncomfortability of a young, lusting body and an unsuredness of what to do with it--are spoken through the narratives of friendship, family and the unknown future.

Highlighted by ever-so-gentle strings, the film's scarcity of music and gentility of spoken word suggest deep melancholy and patience. Andini's film speaks just as much in its silence as it does in its words. The production (Ifa Isfansyah) and sound (Lim Ting Li, Alexis Rault) are wondrous and contextually apropos.

Bathed in natural light both literally and in metaphor, "Yuni" viscerally portrays the harsh realities of womanhood in Muslim culture. Surrounded by difficult themes of sex, marriage and a forced sense of maturity, Arawinda Kirana (Yuni) masterfully exudes the qualities of a young girl, full of uncertain hope and struggle. Surrounded by societal affirmations of "luckiness" regarding arranged marriage, she conveys the uncertainty we all would feel if pressured to marry young, unpreparedly.

One would be remiss not to highlight Kevin Ardilova's Yoga, an admirer of Yuni and poet-extraordinaire. His clunky yet loving awkwardness is comically endearing, filled with skittish hope and desire with little confidence to act upon it. He serves as a mirror to every boy with a love interest at that age, in the funniest and kindest of ways.

"Yuni", in a word, could be captured by subtlety. Not only in its style, but also in the nuance of unceremoniousness seen in its characters and their interactions with each other. Never over-preaching its themes, it exemplifies social commentary film at peak self-reflectivity and honesty. Filmed with a subtle documentary style and colorful aura comparable to Barry Jenkins' 2016 Oscar winner "Moonlight", "Yuni" is a fantastic entry point into the lovely world of international cinema.

Award-winning director Bong Joon Ho's claim still rings true: "Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films."